I clench my teeth to avoid my jaw dropping open in shock. That would only please him and I'm not so ready to surrender to him just yet. Or ever. My Latin teacher, Mr. Henry clears his throat, "now if you two would be so kindly as to take your seats, class can begin".
I unclench my teeth and head to the desk in the back of the room next to a window. Sitting down in the chair, I pull out my Latin notebook and a pencil when Maddox, loudly and obnoxiously, pulls his chair out from underneath his desk with a clatter.
The entire class and Mr. Henry turn their heads to look. Mr. Henry glares daggers at Maddox, whose sheepish smile looks more like a smirk to me. "Sorry Mr. H" he says and sits down. Mr. Henry glares at him again before beginning the lesson.
"Now class, for those of you who don't know what Latin is I'll explain it to you. Latin, simply put, is a dead language. Now that is not to say that it is a language zombies speak, no, instead it is a language of ancient Rome. Now, there are seven types of Latin known to man but I've decided to just teach you the five of those seven and those five are:
Old Latin, which was spoken from the Roman kingdom to the later part of the Roman Republic period and was devised from the Etruscan Alphabet. Classical Latin, which was a conscious creation of the poets, public speakers, and other literate men. Vulgar Latin, my favorite type of Latin, was a type of informal Latin of classical times. Meaning, the language had a relaxed, friendly air to it. Casual if you will. Vulgar Latin contains snippets of everyday speech, meaning everyday words were sometimes used.
In the 9th century Vulgar Latin began to diverge into distinct languages at the latest when the earliest extant Romance writings began to appear. Now the fourth one is Medieval Latin, is the written Latin in use during the era when no corresponding Latin dialect existed. The spoken language had developed into the many incipient, that means developing, Roman languages, but however, Latin continued without its natural steady spoken base. The final one, Renaissance Latin, is the name that was given to the distinct form of Latin
style..but alas we will be focusing on Vulgar Latin."
I put my notebook back into my bag and then slowly start to drift my mind away from Latin and onto other things like, what I'm going to do for food once the school day ends, when I get a tingle in the back of my head. I grit my teeth. Crap not now anytime but now. I lower my head and cradle it in my hands. Right now, I just pray that no one notices.
"Hey, whats up with you?" no such luck. I glance to my left at Maddox, who, surprisingly has a worried expression on his face. I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry. Through gritted teeth I force out, " I'm fine. Leave me alone". I glance to my left to see the shadows on the wall start to waver and glide.
The tingle in the back of my head has now become more incessant. Sweat begins to blossom at the center of my forehead. I close my eyes and take calming breaths in and out my nose. I've almost pushed it back when a hand touches my upper arm.
My eyes snap open and I jerk out of my chair screaming " don't touch me!" at Maddox. My hands out in front of me to ward him off. The entire classroom goes silent. My eyes dart from the startled stares of Mr. Henry to my classmates to Maddox. Slowly I bring my hands back to side clenching them tightly into fists.
I can feel my heart beating faster and faster and the tingling in the back of my skull starting to slowly feel like a jackhammer. "Huntress? Is everything all right?" asks Mr. Henry. Instead of answering him, I focus on my breathing but its not working. I can see the shadows start to mix and form who knows what.
Too many stares of judgement. Too many eyes filled with suspicion. I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here now. With that thought, I grab my bag and push my way past the desks of my classmates and teacher, burst out the classroom door, down the hallway, and out of Richard Starks Academy.
YOU ARE READING
Secrets In The Shadows
Misteri / ThrillerHuntress Winters is a top notch liar. She has to be in order to survive the streets and alleyways of Chicago. And in order to keep certain secrets safe. Secrets such as her mother's true condition but her energy goes mostly into protecting her bigg...
